Sliding doors are typically referred to in marine applications as hip doors, companionway doors, cutty doors, etc. Such doors typically have angled or curved configurations from top to bottom and typically permit access to cabin areas in the lower deck portion of a boat.
Sliding doors, of course, have long been utilized in a number of different environments, including residential homes, greenhouses, van type vehicles, aircraft cockpits, observatory domes, and the like. A sliding door construction specifically for marine use is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,833,829. An earlier example of a sliding access door in a life saving craft for use on seagoing vessels is disclosed in U.K. Patent 460,750.
The use of a sliding door construction in marine applications is advantageous in that it eliminates previously used swinging door constructions which required constant maintenance of hinges and other moving parts, and which were difficult to seal against the elements in their closed position.
One disadvantage of utilizing conventional sliding door constructions for marine use is the inability to effect independent latching/unlatching and locking/unlocking of the door from both outside and inside the cabin.
The present invention provides a sliding door construction particularly adapted for marine use which provides a unique lock and latch assembly which enables locking and unlocking from outside the cabin through the use of a commercially available key lock, while permitting keyless locking and unlocking from inside the cabin independent of the rotational position of the key lock cylinder. The construction also allows latching and unlatching of the door from either side of the door when the assembly is unlocked.
In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, elongated tracks are secured to a cabin entranceway adjacent upper and lower edges of the entranceway on the exterior side of the cabin, for supporting a cabin door for rolling movement between open and closed positions.
In this first exemplary embodiment, the sliding door is itself framed by upper and lower horizontal members along with a pair of curved side wall frame members connecting the upper and lower frame members. A plurality of rollers are rotatably secured to inside surfaces of the upper and lower door frame members, the rollers being configured to mate with rails provided within the track assemblies fixed to the upper and lower "frames" of the cabin entranceway. In this way, the door is securely supported by the track assemblies, and is prevented from separating therefrom by the configuration of the rollers and rails.
The handle and latching/locking assembly in an exemplary embodiment of the invention includes a pivotally mounted handle, preferably an extruded piece of aluminum or other suitable material, secured within a cutout portion of one of the side wall frame members of the door by a pair of hinge pins extending vertically through a slot provided in the handle and received within a continuous slot (interrupted by the cutout portion) provided in the extruded door frame member. In this exemplary embodiment, the handle member is provided on its rearward face (facing the cabin interior), with an elongated latch adapted to engage and be received in an elongated slot provided in a catch member fixed to a cabin entranceway perimeter. In an alternative arrangement, the catch member comprises a simple flat plate, and the elongated latch is adapted to ride over and "lock" behind the catch plate. In both arrangements, the handle member is spring biased to a closed position so that upon shutting of the door, the latch will be resiliently urged into full engagement with the slot in the catch member (or behind the catch plate in the alternative arrangement). The door can be unlatched simply by pulling the handle outwardly away from the catch, thereby permitting sliding of the door to an open position. In this way, the door can be latched and unlatched from both sides when the assembly is unlocked.
A key lock assembly is mounted in the door side wall frame, just above or below the handle, with key access on the exterior side (facing away from the cabin interior) of the door. The key lock cylinder/barrel assembly is a commercially available item and includes a conventional cylinder and barrel arrangement wherein two axial rows of locking tabs extend radially away from the cylinder on diametrically opposite sides thereof, and which are received in corresponding axial grooves provided in the barrel. Upon insertion of the key, the two rows of locking tabs retract into the cylinder to thereby permit rotation of the cylinder relative to the barrel. The key lock assembly also includes a locking cam on the interior side of the door side wall frame which is secured to the free end of the cylinder and which is rotatable into engagement with a slot provided on a rearward face of the handle assembly (via rotation of the key) to thereby prevent the handle from outward (or opening) pivotal movement which would otherwise disengage the latch from the slot in the catch member.
At the same time, however, the locking cam is provided with a manually grippable knob which permits the locking cam to be rotated into and out of a locking position regardless of the rotational position of the key lock cylinder. In other words, even if the key has been utilized to lock (or unlock) the cabin door from the outside, a person within the cabin may unlock (or lock) the door simply by rotating the knob to rotate the locking flange out of (or into) engagement with the slot provided on the rear face of the handle, which, in turn, permits (or prevents) outward pivoting movement of the handle to disengage the latch member from the slot in the catch member. This is possible because of a cam slot/cam projection arrangement between the key cylinder and a cooperating locking cam member which permits 90.degree. freedom of movement of the locking cam independent of the rotational position of the key cylinder. This 90.degree. freedom of movement is a characteristic of the commercially available key cylinder utilized in this invention, although other aspects of the locking cam member have been designed specifically for the door constructions disclosed herein.
In another exemplary embodiment of the invention, the sliding door itself is unframed, and the roller assemblies are attached directly to, for example, the relatively thick plexiglass panels which form the doors. At the same time, the handle and latching/locking assembly is pivotally mounted to an extrusion which, in turn, is secured directly to the plexiglass panel. In this alternative embodiment, the key lock may be mounted through the extrusion.
Thus, in one exemplary embodiment of the invention, there is provided in combination with a door slidable on tracks extending across an entranceway having a perimeter, a latching and locking mechanism comprising an elongated handle pivotally mounted on the door, the handle including a latch member located along one edge of the handle, the latch member adapted to cooperate with a catch member fixed to a portion of the entranceway perimeter, and a key lock assembly mounted the door and adapted to lock the door in a closed position by preventing disengagement of the latch member from the catch member.
In another aspect, the invention provides a sliding door construction for a cabin entranceway of a boat comprising: a door having upper, lower and a pair of side edges; a plurality of rollers mounted to inside surfaces of the door adjacent the upper and lower edges, respectively; the plurality of rollers adapted for rolling engagement with upper and lower tracks secured along upper and lower portions, respectively of the entranceway; a handle and lock assembly secured along one of said side edges of the door, the handle and lock assembly including a handle pivotally mounted for movement between open and closed positions, the handle including an elongated latch member adapted to cooperate with an elongated catch member secured to the cabin entranceway; the handle and lock assembly further comprising a key lock assembly mounted in the door adjacent the handle, the key lock assembly operatively associated with a locking cam for movement into and out of a slot provided in the handle from outside the cabin upon rotation of a key inserted within the key lock, and wherein the locking cam is rotatable from within the cabin into and out of the slot provided on the handle independent of the key lock cylinder position.
Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the detailed description which follows.